Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate to post-mix dispensers to dispense a beverage.
Background
Post-mix dispensers typically permit a beverage to be created on-demand from a mixture of ingredients. An advantage of dispensing beverages in this form is that the concentrate containers and water supply typically occupy significantly less space than is otherwise required to store the same volume of beverage in individual containers. Moreover, this dispensing equipment reduces waste formed by the empty individual containers and additional transport costs. These and other technological advances have allowed food and beverage vendors to offer more diverse choices to consumers through post-mix dispensing systems.
Typically, in a post-mix dispenser, a fluid or a beverage concentrate is supplied from a source for example, a bag-in-box (BIB) container. The beverage concentrate mixes with a diluent, for example, water or carbonated water, to form a finished beverage. A BIB container stores a predetermined volume of the beverage concentrate and must be replenished or replaced, as required.
Traditional post-mix beverage dispensing systems can determine when the fluid or the beverage concentrate source is empty, i.e. a “sold-out” state of the beverage in the beverage dispensing system. For example, the beverage dispensing system can utilize a pressure switch in the supply line of the fluid to the beverage dispenser to determine when the fluid or beverage concentrate source is sold-out. Though reliable, the pressure switches and associated componentry can be expensive to install and maintain.